


A Weird Welcome

by Kestral



Category: The Ebon Ward
Genre: Gen, maze has one line so he is also technically in this fanfic, we have fun here at the ebon ward, wrote this in like 3 hours
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-26 04:24:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13850055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kestral/pseuds/Kestral
Summary: Jasper is happy to see her friends return from Kragmurr's Fissure, but there's something of the upmost importance that must be done before anyone can settle in.





	A Weird Welcome

            Jasper sat in the dinning hall, tuning out the sad drones of Walter and Tatter Tables, when she heard familiar and much more welcome voices in the hallway.

            “I mean, yes, it really isn’t the welcome home one would want, but I’m afraid that Suino’s right.”

            “All I’m saying is, that we don’t know what the situation around the whole _five dollar shrimp and golf_ thing is right now, and you should probably stay hidden until after we report to the Duchess and find out what’s going on.”

            Maze’s reply was drowned out by the sound of a bench scraping across stone and then toppling over as Jasper ran for the hallway.

            She burst out in front of the group and did a quick tally. Same number of limbs that they left with, nothing weird hanging out, looking a little travel worn but that was to be expected, so it seemed like things were okay!

            “Dia!” she shouted, throwing her hands up in the air.

            “Jasper!” Dia shouted back, also throwing her hands up.

            Jasper launched herself at Dia, who grabbed her and stumbled back, steadying herself and holding Jasper up.

            “How have you been dear?” Dia laughed.

            “Oh, I’ve been lots of things, how are you?” She said, a little surprised to not be on the floor. “Did you get buff?”

            “Maybe? I don’t actually know how turning into an enormous tiger at least once a day might affect one’s normal physic. I’ll have to put some study into it.”

            “Fighting build muscles,” Gnash added.

            “That’s true, but are they really _my_ muscles? And if they build, where do they go?” Dia paused, a thought coming over her. “What if every time I transform I’m turning into a different tiger! What would that even mean?”

In a flash Jasper remembered. “Dia you can figure that out later, there’s something important we need to do!”

            “Yes of course I know that we need to report to the Duchess before I can re-“

            “No not that!” Jasper shook her head. “I wanted to do this as soon as we got back from Tower’s Tottle, but then me and wolf lady had to do druid things. So come on!” She started pulling Dia forward. “You too Gnash!”

            Gnash lifted up his head, then cocked it. “Oh?”

            “Yeah come on you ol’ good boy!” Jasper dragged Dia back to grab onto Gnash as well.

            “Jasper I have dearly missed you, but a lot has happened that the Duchess really ought to know about.”

            “Naahhhhhh,” Jasper said. This was far more important.

            “Do I,” Suino faltered for a moment, “do I need to come as well?”

            Jasper shook her head. “Naw, you’re alright. Just gotta show these two something.” She started walking again.

            “If it won’t take too long, I’ll just go tell Sandy that we’re here, and she can make an appointment with the Duchess?” Suino said to their retreating backs.

            “And I’ll just fuck off then,” Maze called from behind.

            “Yeah sure you can do that!” Jasper said, giving no indication as to who she was talking to. There was not enough time. This needed to be fixed.

            “Where are we going?” Dia asked as she was pulled into a light jog.

            “To the library.”

            “Did some of your snakes get loose?”

            “I mean,” Jasper thought for a moment. “Probably? There are more of the little buggers now so it’s harder to keep track of them. Think they’re starting a society on some of the back shelves.”

            “Oh!” Dia said. “Good for them! But it’s not a snake emergency?”

            Jasper shook her head. How could Dia be so smart and yet so daft. “Weren’t you listening? I said I needed to show you something.”

            She felt a jerk on her arm as Gnash abruptly stopped.

            “Why we going to the library when _Gnash can’t read_ ,” he said, slowing down his words to make his point more clear.

            Jasper released Dia to pat Gnash’s paw. “Don’t worry about you big lug, I’ll read to you!”

            Gnash nodded. “Okay.”

            “Great!” Jasper grinned. “Now come on!”

            They followed her to the library. She ran through the door and headed for the shelves, when the other two paused behind her. Dia looked around, taking a deep breath and smiling.

            “Good to be home?” Gnash said.

            “Yeah,” Dia sighed. “Things sure got a little dicey a few times there. It felt weird, that time we made a call to the Duchess in case we couldn’t come back.”

            “Hard to,” Gnash took a breath, “face own mor-tal-it-y.”

            “Yeah,” Dia looked up at him. She smiled for a moment, then her smile faded. “There are so many disasters that could have happened.”

            “Lots of death.”

            Dia nodded and sighed, then looked around the library again. Jasper was coming back, dragging a massive tome. It had a letter B embossed onto the thick letter cover, with several marks slashed through it diagonally, as if someone dragged a clawed hand across the design.

            Jasper dropped it on a table with a thud, then beckoned the two of them over.

            “Animals,” she muttered as she ran her finger along an expansive table of contents. “Aannnnnii, after angels then, aannnimmaall, okay before all that animated junk. There!” She flipped through several hundred pages of the book, turning pages back and forth as she missed the mark, narrowing down to a chapter heading that had it’s own table of contents.

            “Dear,” Dia said. “What is going on?”

            “Hold on I’m almost there.” She turned more pages rapidly. “Assassin Bug, Assassin Bug Great, Badger, Bat, Birds, Boar, wait.” Jasper stopped, and flipped several pages back. She turned one page back and forth. “B, e, a, r.” She stared forward, her face shifting to horror. She stumbled back, dropping to her knees. “No,” she said. “This can’t be right. This can’t be.”

            “Aww,” Dia put a hand on her shoulder. “Were you waiting all this time to show us what a bear is?”

            “It’s not in the book! But I know that bears are real! I know it Dia!” She grasped onto her hand, looking up into Dia’s eyes. “Just because I ain’t ever seen a real bear doesn’t mean I don’t know things.”

            Gnash leaned over and picked up the book, holding it up near his eye. “Page missing.”

            Dia and Jasper both looked up at him. “What?”

            “Page gone,” he held the book out towards them, pointing with one hand. “Torn out by big claws.”

            Jasper stared at the ragged edge, cogs in her mind turning towards an inevitable conclusion. She tilted her head back, staring through the ceiling and to the heavens beyond. “BOJACK!”

**Author's Note:**

> Woo! First fic of the fandom!


End file.
